Caterham build / chassis no. - urgent advice required please
Discussion
Good morning,
Could do with some advice urgently please.
Went to view an R500D yesterday, which to all intents and purposes was in great condition.
However the current owner, (not the first), could not confirm whether the car was factory built or not and told me it had originally been supplied to the first owner by Millwood Costswold Caterham and they may have built it / commissioned the build.
Looking at the chassis number it starts off SDKRDK and a quick Google search advises that the last 'K' in that string denotes amateur build from a kit and not factory build.
I'm a little confused / concerned as I didn't think the R500D was available as a kit. And despite the spec matching the factory product, (as far as I could tell), should I be wary that the car is not a genuine R500D and if it isn't, how would this typically affect value? (That's not to say it isn't potentially a good car but I don't want to be paying for a non-genuine item)
I'll probably give Caterham and Millwood a call today to try and find out a little more about the vehicle if I can but any advice would be greatly appreciated please.
Thanks in advance,
Steve
Could do with some advice urgently please.
Went to view an R500D yesterday, which to all intents and purposes was in great condition.
However the current owner, (not the first), could not confirm whether the car was factory built or not and told me it had originally been supplied to the first owner by Millwood Costswold Caterham and they may have built it / commissioned the build.
Looking at the chassis number it starts off SDKRDK and a quick Google search advises that the last 'K' in that string denotes amateur build from a kit and not factory build.
I'm a little confused / concerned as I didn't think the R500D was available as a kit. And despite the spec matching the factory product, (as far as I could tell), should I be wary that the car is not a genuine R500D and if it isn't, how would this typically affect value? (That's not to say it isn't potentially a good car but I don't want to be paying for a non-genuine item)
I'll probably give Caterham and Millwood a call today to try and find out a little more about the vehicle if I can but any advice would be greatly appreciated please.
Thanks in advance,
Steve
CharlesElliott said:
It was not available as a kit officially, but some people did (Daniel and Nigel being the two I know of). There may also be some reason why Caterham provided it with a K chassis number even if they/an agent built it.
That's an interesting point you make Charles about there being another possible reason why Caterham provided the car with a K chassis number, even if they, or one of their agents did build the car. I've therefore put a call in to CC this morning to try and establish what they have on record but need to call back tomorrow. Millwood are also, very helpfully, looking in to the original sale as they supplied the car new to their customer, at first registration. Hopefully they can advise who supplied it to them, as they didn't build it.
Many thanks.
As the guys said both myself and Daniel have built our own R500's as kits.
This was normally under a special arrangement with CC that we take responsibility for the build, but cc would help and support they best that can, which in both cases they did do an excel the job.
I am aware of two R500's that were for sale at Millwoods, that were not actually genuine R500 models, Ie with a numbered plaque and log book etc, but they did have all the correct parts on them that you would expect for an R500 equivalent.
The last one they had for sale was a Green with yellow and white stripe, the same as my 2011 R500 model.
Not sure if that helps.
This was normally under a special arrangement with CC that we take responsibility for the build, but cc would help and support they best that can, which in both cases they did do an excel the job.
I am aware of two R500's that were for sale at Millwoods, that were not actually genuine R500 models, Ie with a numbered plaque and log book etc, but they did have all the correct parts on them that you would expect for an R500 equivalent.
The last one they had for sale was a Green with yellow and white stripe, the same as my 2011 R500 model.
Not sure if that helps.
nigelpugh7 said:
As the guys said both myself and Daniel have built our own R500's as kits.
This was normally under a special arrangement with CC that we take responsibility for the build, but cc would help and support they best that can, which in both cases they did do an excel the job.
I am aware of two R500's that were for sale at Millwoods, that were not actually genuine R500 models, Ie with a numbered plaque and log book etc, but they did have all the correct parts on them that you would expect for an R500 equivalent.
The last one they had for sale was a Green with yellow and white stripe, the same as my 2011 R500 model.
Not sure if that helps.
Nigel, This was normally under a special arrangement with CC that we take responsibility for the build, but cc would help and support they best that can, which in both cases they did do an excel the job.
I am aware of two R500's that were for sale at Millwoods, that were not actually genuine R500 models, Ie with a numbered plaque and log book etc, but they did have all the correct parts on them that you would expect for an R500 equivalent.
The last one they had for sale was a Green with yellow and white stripe, the same as my 2011 R500 model.
Not sure if that helps.
That's brilliant.... thank you.
Can I ask please whether, in your opinion, the value of a non-genuine R500D, (albeit one with all parts present and correct), is affected / compromised when compared to a genuine car, both in terms of the sale or resale price? I appreciate however that, at the end of the day, the car is worth whatever someone is prepared to pay for it but I would welcome your view!
Cheers,
Steve
JustCallMeMac said:
Nigel,
That's brilliant.... thank you.
Can I ask please whether, in your opinion, the value of a non-genuine R500D, (albeit one with all parts present and correct), is affected / compromised when compared to a genuine car, both in terms of the sale or resale price? I appreciate however that, at the end of the day, the car is worth whatever someone is prepared to pay for it but I would welcome your view!
Cheers,
Steve
Your welcome Steve,That's brilliant.... thank you.
Can I ask please whether, in your opinion, the value of a non-genuine R500D, (albeit one with all parts present and correct), is affected / compromised when compared to a genuine car, both in terms of the sale or resale price? I appreciate however that, at the end of the day, the car is worth whatever someone is prepared to pay for it but I would welcome your view!
Cheers,
Steve
As you say it's aways down to what someone is prepared to pay for the car they want.
I think a non genuine r500, will be slightly harder to sell than a true genuine car, but if priced well they always sell, as there are so few about.
However just an FYI, when selling both my R500's privately, the second question after why are you selling it, has always been, "is it a genuine factory built car? "
Most people in the case of my white R500 were not expecting to find out it was built as a kit!!
Read into that what you will!!
This looks like the car that was previously for sale at Millwoods.
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/c...
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/c...
nigelpugh7 said:
This looks like the car that was previously for sale at Millwoods.
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/c...
I agree with your deduction Mr Holmes http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/c...
and that's the one I've been to see!Gassing Station | Caterham | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff